Audioguide: The Roman denarii present us with a world of images.

The Roman denarii present us with a world of images, and there is a political background to it. Before an up-and-coming senator could climb the career ladder, he had to prove successful in a lesser position. And mint master was one of the most popular positions. In this capacity, the young politician could choose the pictures which would be displayed on the Roman coinage. And this gave him the opportunity to show himself from his best side.

But how should a man do that if he had not accomplished anything yet? Well, people in Rome were convinced that a man could only be as good as his ancestors. If a person had ancestors who had done something positive for Rome, voters hoped that their descendant would do the same. As a result, many of the denarii's pictures show images from the Roman past. In order to be reelected, young mint masters used the coins to remind those who spent them - their potential voters - of their ancestors' good deeds for Rome.

We have chosen 60 coins for this exhibition and we will explain their pictures to you. You will find depictions of Roman history, Roman politics and Roman religion. Even the smallest detail can have a very specific meaning. So please take a close look and follow our Picture Tours.